A Fierce Winter Night

A One Piece Fanfic

By Saitou Miharu

Sanji shivered beneath his blanket-- the winter this year was fierce. After tossing and turning a few minutes, the cook gave up; he lifted the thin blanket from on top of him, tossed it at the sleeping form of Zolo, then jumped down from his hammock and stormed from the cabin. Trembling in the freezing breath of midnight, the cook entered Nami's room, only to be kicked out when he caused her to awaken.

He wasn't about to go back into the men's cabin. That would mean taking his blanket back from Zolo, and that wasn't something Sanji had the energy for at the time. Sighing, the cook entered the kitchen, where he found Luffy wolfing down cake.

"Luffy...?" Sanji said softly. "Hey. Do you like the cake?"

The pirate captain turned around, startled. "Sanji?" he asked. He swallowed the cake and added in a smaller, clearer voice, "I'm sorry... it's cold, and I woke up, and I was hungry, so..."

"Oh, no, I'm not mad." the cook replied quickly. He smiled and sat down next to Luffy. "I thought you might like that cake. I picked out a recipe for strawberry shortcake just for you, you know."

"Yeah, strawberries are good." Luffy lifted the knife and tried to slice another piece. "Hey, Sanji, can you help? I can't get this to work..."

"Sure." The cook took the knife from his captain and carefully sliced a piece of cake, putting it on his plate. Then he fetched a second plate and cut a piece for himself. "I haven't had a piece yet." he said nonchalantly. "I like strawberries, too."

"This is great, Sanji." Luffy said happily. He stuck his fork in his mouth.

"Glad you think so." Sanji watched the captain as he ate the rest of the piece, then leaned back against his chair. The cook then broke out of his trance, remembering his piece of cake, and began to finish it.

"Hey! Look at that huge fish!" Luffy shouted suddenly. He glanced at the cook, frantically, then back out the window as he said, "It was huge! I mean, this big..." He stretched his arms out and knocked the plate of cake into Sanji's chest. The cook immediately stood up, taking a napkin and wiping frosting from his shirtfront. Luffy barked out an apology.

"Oh. It's fine." Sanji replied. He took his suit jacket off and folded it.

"Hey, Sanji, why are you wearing your suit?"

It took the cook a moment to realize what was being asked. "Oh. Uh, it's really cold, and I guess I'm not very used to it..." He brushed some blond hair in front of his eye. "It was always very warm on the Baratie..."

"Here, you're a mess. I'm sorry." Luffy stood and unbuttoned Sanji's shirt, slowly and clumsily pushing each button out of its hole. Finally he reached the bottom of the shirt, pulling it from the cook's pants, then pealing it back from his body. Sanji turned and looked the boy in the eye-- his dark pupils stared back. The cook's eyes fell, and he smiled.

"Luffy." he said softly. "It's okay. I'm fine."

The captain grinned and took his hand in his. "Come on, let's find some blankets! I'm freezing!"

For a moment the cook stared down at their hands, intertwined in each other. Then he shook his feeling of uneasiness and followed Luffy out onto the deck. "Hey, I thought we were looking for blankets." Sanji said aloud.

The captain turned and smiled at him. "Isn't the sea pretty at night?"

Sanji scanned the calm water. "Yeah." he whispered.

The two sat on the deck and stared out and into the night. The cold breeze tossed Sanji's hair, and he shivered uncontrollably. Finally, warm arms wrapped around him, causing the cook to jump. "Luffy?" he stammered, dumbfounded. "What are you--"

"You're cold." Luffy replied, almost mechanically. He closed his eyes and leaned into Sanji's bare skin. "It's so cold, Sanji, please don't chase me away..."

The cook's heart froze over. Had he really given that impression in the time he'd been with Luffy and the others? He hadn't meant to. Oh, how he wished he could take it back. He wanted to take back whatever had caused them to think that, because that wasn't how Sanji felt at all. He loved Nami, and he cared about Luffy and Usopp. Even Zolo wasn't that bad a person-- just a bit annoying. Did they really think he was trying to push them all away?

"No, I won't chase you away."Sanji whispered. He lifted his own arms slowly, then wrapped them around his captain. "Luffy, I'm so sorry. I didn't think I was giving that impression-- I love being here with you, and Nami, Usopp-- even Zolo..." His frantic voice trailed off, and there was nothing but frozen silence.

A tear slipped down the cook's face. He didn't have time to stop it; it fell from his cold cheek and landed on Luffy's bare neck. The captain stopped hugging Sanji, blinking, wondering what had happened. "Sanji." he finally said. "Let's go to sleep. I'm tired."

Sanji smiled. "Okay."

After finding some extra blankets, and wrestling Sanji's blanket from a sleeping swordsman, the two climbed into their hammocks and layered their many blankets. Then they fell into a deep sleep.

When the cook awoke the next morning, he was on the floor, covered in blankets, in a big pile with Luffy, Zolo, and Usopp. Sanji smiled, tousling the captain's black hair softly, then allowed his head to fall back and his eyes to close.

They slept in all morning and were yelled at by Nami when they awoke.